This relates generally to processors.
Some processor cores provide limited performance because of limited power consumption budgets. This is especially true for processor cores for battery operated products.
Higher performance may be achieved in a burst mode operation involving a burst of high frequency activity that lasts for a few seconds or milliseconds. During such burst mode operation, continued higher performance operation for extended time periods would cause the core to exceed its sustained power budget. A sustained power budget specifies the amount of power, on average, that the processor should consume over time in order to meet a sustained power budget.
Burst mode performance may be important in achieving a quick response time, for example, in interactive graphics applications and may require that the graphics core operate at a higher frequency and dissipate power in excess of that permitted by its sustained power budget. Thus, the desire for higher burst mode performance may be inconsistent with achieving low power consumption. Higher performance is generally achieved by more execution units that generally lead to greater leakage power consumption, making it difficult to stay within a sustained workload power consumption budget.